‘M3GAN 2.0’ Review

With ‘M3GAN 2.0’, Gerard Johnstone tries to do with this franchise what ‘Aliens’ and ‘T2: Judgment Day’ did for theirs: take the world of a successful horror film and remake it into an action packed thriller.

The only difference is that those movies were actually good.

Following the events of ‘M3GAN’, Gemma (Allison Williams) still works in robotics, but is spending most of her time writing books and lecturing people about how robots are no substitute for parenting. Having just barely survived the mayhem wrought by her AI killing machine M3GAN, Gemma is working with governments to take seriously the substantial threats posed by unregulated AI in the hopes of passing legislation to ensure this new technology is developed in a humane way.

T O P I C A L.

But when another AI robot is found killing people a world away, the FBI warns Gemma that her and her family’s lives may be at risk. In a moment of desperation, Gemma gets the team back together to bring M3GAN back to life, with a new and improved body, in the hopes that she can protect them and the world from this new and dangerous adversary. Where the original ‘M3GAN’ was a slasher film à la ‘Child’s Play’, with an in-on-the-joke tone, ‘M3GAN 2.0’ opts for more straight forward action, while still attempting to walk the tight rope of camp.

Campiness is a difficult balancing act, when done right, a movie can become a cult hit, like was the case with the original ‘M3GAN’. But when done poorly, moments that should be subversive and humorous just come off … dumb.

The action is dull, the humor is lazy, and the characters are unlikable. Nobody has any internal thoughts, everything they’re thinking, considering, or remembering, they speak aloud so the audience doesn’t have to think too hard. Everything about this movie feels hobbled together, from the plot to the sets. There’s an AI Convention featuring a Chinese Ambassador and a bunch of dancers dressed like souped-up extras from ‘Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century’. Attempting to outdo the out of the blue success of the first one, ‘M3GAN 2.0’ features moments that feel engineered to go viral. You laughed at the dancing from the original? Cool, this version of M3GAN dances and sings. Can you believe it?!

Gemma opens the film on a speaking tour, lecturing audiences about the dangers of technology, how our phones prevent us from truly experiencing the world. It was funny to hear this, as I looked around the theater to see so many people on their phones. One group was scrolling TikTok, taking group selfies with flash on, and at one point used a flashlight to look for something on the ground. Though if it makes you feel better, they were also talking to each other. Loudly.

But I digress.

‘M3GAN 2.0’ is the most annoying kind of sequel: it takes an original smash hit, identifies a few elements that resonated with the audience and quadruples down on them until the resulting film is devoid of all surprise and charm. When a franchise shifts genres between films, the idea is to stand on its own merit as a new twist on a known universe. But Gerard Johnstone is no James Cameron, and the resulting film is a disappointing follow up to the unexpectedly good time that was the original.

M3GAN 2.0
Rated PG-13 for strong violent content, bloody images, some strong language, sexual material, and brief drug references.
Running Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes

Director Gerard Johnstone
Writers Gerard Johnstone
Stars Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Jen Van Epps, Amie Donald, Jenna Davis, Ivanna Sakhno, Aristotle Athari, Timm Sharp, Jemaine Clement
Rating PG-13
Running Time 119 Minutes
Genres Action, Horror, Sci-Fi